1. Field of the Invention
The embodiments of the present invention relate to a plasma display panel. More particularly, the embodiments of the present invention relate to a plasma display panel in which noise sources around a gas exhaust port and a gas exhaust tube can be effectively suppressed.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, a plasma display panel (PDP) is formed by combining a front panel with a rear panel to contain a discharge gas in the space between the panels. The front panel includes a front substrate, display electrodes formed on a rear surface of the front substrate, a dielectric layer covering the display electrodes, and a protective layer. The rear panel includes a rear substrate, address electrodes formed on a front surface of the rear substrate laid out in a direction crossing the display electrodes, a dielectric layer covering the address electrodes, barrier ribs formed on the dielectric layer and partitioning discharge cells and a phosphor layer formed on the discharge cells.
The PDP is driven by generating a sustain discharge and a reset discharge after an address discharge. If a sustain pulse is applied to the display electrode, an electric field is generated by the display electrodes in each discharge cell. Discharge gas is excited to a plasma state in a high energy level by this electric field and is then stabilized to a low energy level. During this process, an ultraviolet ray is generated. This ultraviolet ray excites the phosphor layer to a high energy level. The phosphor layer emits visible light while it is being stabilized to a lower energy level, and thus a desired image can be generated.
The PDP is provided with a gas exhaust port and a gas exhaust tube at one side of the rear substrate. The exhaust port and the gas exhaust tube are required to exhaust air remaining between the front and rear panels after combining the two panels and to seal the panels after injecting a discharge gas into an inner space between the two panels. To meet these requirements, the gas exhaust port and the gas exhaust tube are configured to define a passageway within the plasma display panel, at a terminal connection region, i.e., a dummy region provided between a display region showing images and an interconnection region for connecting electrode terminals to a connector.
When the PDP is driven, a natural frequency of the PDP and a driving frequency of the PDP that is applied to the display electrodes from a driving circuit may create resonance conditions. Noises and vibrations can be generated by the resonance. Such noises and vibrations may be further amplified while passing through the gas exhaust port and the gas exhaust tube that are formed in the rear substrate.